World Weather

Tropical Cyclone Megh intensified overnight and at 0900Z the JTWC had its intensity at 110 gusting 135 knots (204 gusting 250 kph). The eye has just passed over the northern part of the island of Socotra, as shown by the latest 1-km visible image (1130Z) and a 85 GHz microwave image at 1039Z. Earlier satellite-derived precipitation rates were around 1.2 inches (30 mm) per hour.

Tropical Cyclone 04A (Chapala), which rapidly became a strong tropical cyclone (hurricane) in the Arabian Sea a few days ago (see here), is now in the Gulf of Aden, south of Al Mukalla, Yemen. It has reduced to 90 knots from its highest 145 knots, and is starting weaken under the effects of increased windshear and the Yemeni terrain. It will make landfall as a minimal hurricane at about 0600Z Wednesday (0900 local time) and will bring life-threatening rainfall over a wide area.

A tropical cyclone (or hurricane as we know it) has formed in the Arabian Sea and is heading west towards the Arabian peninsula. It looks set to hit somewhere around the border between Oman and Yemen on Monday as a strong Category 3 or 4 storm, with sustained winds of up to 115 knots (225 kph). This is liable to cause substantial damage and life-threatening floods to an area not accustomed to such severe weather.Continue reading →

Hurricane Debbie over the Atlantic on September 13th, 1961. Image from Wikiwand

Of all the Irish windstorms in living memory, Debbie in September 1961 set many records that still stand to this day. With a total death-toll of 78 (18 in Ireland and 60 in a plane crash in Cape Verde), it left a path of destruction in its wake. It has been claimed that this storm was the only true hurricane to survive as far north as Ireland, but this is not the case. Hurricanes, in the true sense of the word, simply cannot hold onto their tropical characteristics throughout the long trek this far north, and Debbie was no different. It is possible for us to get regular storms with hurricane-force winds, but they are a different beast altogether. So what was Debbie then?

Hurricane Patricia has been one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded anywhere on the globe. It was certainly the strongest ever to be recorded in the National Hurricane Center’s area of responsibility (Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins), with faster intensification and lower pressure than Linda in 1997. It made landfall in western Mexico early this morning, thankfully having weakened slightly, but still as a Category 5 hurricane and currently bringing life-threatening rainfall to central Mexico. Its lifetime has been short but remarkable, as described below.Continue reading →

With 200 mph (325 kph) sustained winds, Hurricane Patricia has now become the strongest hurricane ever recorded in either the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific forecast areas, according to the National Hurricane Center. What’s more, it is on a collision course for southwestern Mexico later today, where it is expected to cause catastrophic damage.